1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of swimming pools. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of automatically activating and deactivating a water supply when the water level in a swimming pool or other body of water is low or high.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Specifically, one of the most common responsibilities associated with pool maintenance is maintaining the proper water level in the swimming pool. Pool water level may fall below acceptable levels due to many factors including evaporation, splashing action, and leakage. If the pool water is too low, the filter will not work properly and may cause damage to the filter which can be costly to repair. In addition, if the swimming pool water is too low, the pool water will not get filtered resulting in stagnation, the pool's sidewall plaster may become stained, and the pool's tile grout may become damaged.
Depending on the swimming pool size, geographical location, time of year (e.g. summer or winter), exposure to sunlight, and amount of use and splashing, a swimming pool may require adding water as much as three times a week, for approximately twenty to thirty minutes per time.
To solve the dilemma of having a water level too low in a swimming pool, pool owners are required to manually turn on the water fill valve to fill the pool, and must subsequently manually turn off the water fill valve once the pool has been adequately filled. The disadvantage of manually turning off the water to the pool is that human presence and labor are required. As a result, pool owners may not be able to take a vacation, since human presence is required to manually add water to the swimming pool. Another disadvantage of manually turning on and subsequently turn off the water to the pool is that the individual may forget to subsequently turn off the pool water once the pool has been adequately filled resulting in the pool being overfilled or overflowing, thereby wasting water.
The following nine (9) prior art patents are found to be pertinent to the field of the present invention:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 3,114,243 issued to Winters on Dec. 17, 1963 for "Automatic System Of Agricultural Irrigation" (hereafter the "Winters Patent"); PA1 2. U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,477 issued to Shapiro on Apr. 10, 1973 for "Automated Irrigation System" (hereafter the "Shapiro Patent"); PA1 3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,058 issued to Baker on Jan. 9, 1979 for "Automated Pool Level And Skimming Gutter Flow Control System" (hereafter the "Baker Patent"); PA1 4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,691 issued to Birnbach et al on Mar. 25, 1980 for "Automatic Control Of The Moisture Content Of The Soil" (hereafter the "Birnbach Patent"); PA1 5. U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,866 issued to Neal on Apr. 15, 1980 for "Soil Moisture Sampler And Controller" (hereafter the "Neal Patent"); PA1 6. U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,149 issued to Hirsch on Aug. 2, 1983 for "Irrigation Control System" (hereafter the "Hirsch Patent"); PA1 7. U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,399 issued to Yovanofski on Aug. 26, 1986 for "Automatic Pool Water Regulator Apparatus" (hereafter the "Yovanofski Patent"); PA1 8. U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,657 issued to St. Ledger on Nov. 11, 1986 for "Automatic Water Level Monitoring System" (hereafter the "St. Ledger Patent"); and PA1 9. U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,855 issued to Goldsmith on Jun. 2, 1992 for "Automatic Water Control Apparatus" (hereafter the "Goldsmith Patent").
The Shapiro Patent discloses an automatic irrigation system wherein the valves are remotely opened by means of radio signals for operating various irrigation sprinkler valves.
The Baker Patent discloses an automatic pool level and skimming gutter flow control system. It comprises sensor means for sensing the changes in water level and water activity and actuating appropriate mechanical response mechanisms for controlling water feed and skimming gutter drain flow. The system is generally built into the swimming pool upon construction of the pool, or would require substantial installation and expense to add to an existing pool not equipped with the system as it is built into the sidewall, plaster and cement decking of the pool.
The Birnbach Patent discloses an automatic control of the moisture content of the soil. The moisture content of the soil is maintained between predetermined wet and dry thresholds by a control in response to detected thresholds through contacts inserted in the soil to effect the opening and closing of a valve in the conduit by which water is delivered to that area.
The Hirsch Patent discloses an irrigation control system. It comprises masts, soil measurement sensors associated with a lower portion of each mast, data transmission apparatus associated with an upper portion of each mast to transmit data continuously measured by the sensor, and a processing device to process that transmitted data.
The Yovanofski Patent discloses an automatic pool water regulator apparatus. It comprises a pipe opening into the pool through the sidewall and plaster of the pool adequately below the minimum allowable water level of the pool, extending horizontally to supply pool water to two vertical pipes situated away from the swimming pool and which indicate the pool water level. Each pipe has a floating element disposed therein. Each float element has a switch secured to a distal end protruding from the vertical pipes. Brackets are mounted adjacent the switches so that as the float elements rise and fall, the switches are turned ON and OFF thereby activating either pool draining or pool filling devices. The system is generally built into the swimming pool upon construction of the pool or would require substantial installation and expense to add to an existing pool not equipped with the system as it is built into the sidewall, plaster and possibly the cement decking of the pool.
The St. Ledger Patent discloses an automatic water level monitoring system for maintaining a preselected water level. It comprises a chamber in communication with the pool such that the water level in the chamber corresponds to that of the pool. The chamber contains an adjustable overflow tube and a vertically oriented water supply line which has a mechanical diaphragm valve and surrounded by an annular float, where the valve is actuated by a height adjustable overhead actuator bar. The system is generally built into the swimming pool upon construction of the pool or would require substantial installation and expense to add to an existing pool not equipped with the system as it is built into the sidewall, plaster and cement decking of the pool.
The Goldsmith Patent discloses an automatic water control apparatus with a venturi to control water flow over a waterfall. The venturi has a bypass conduit so that the venturi does not act to limit the flow of water to demands made downstream of the water control system. It further comprises a light sensitive control to allow water flow only during day or night by controlling the transmission of the vacuum pulled by the venturi to a porous moisture sensor.
The Winters Patent discloses an automatic system for controlling water on agricultural land.
The Neal Patent discloses a soil moisture sampler and controller. It automatically activates in-ground probes to measure the soil moisture.
It is highly desirable to have a very efficient and also very effective design and construction of an automatic water regulator apparatus for automatically activating a water supply to fill a swimming pool or the like when the water level reaches a certain minimum threshold and deactivating the water supply when the water level reaches a certain maximum threshold. It is desirable that the system does not require installation upon construction of the swimming pool or substantial installation and expense on existing swimming pools. It is also desirable that the system can be easily, efficiently and inexpensively installed by the pool owner to any swimming pool equipped with a water fill line.